VOL 71 No4 - Navy League of Australia

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FIREPOWER BOOST FOR TYPE 23S
The RN Type 23 frigate HMS WESTMINSTER is set
to get a major boost to her firepower in a £11M
refit at Devonport.
Babcock have began work on the refit that will see
the Type 23 frigate become the first in the class to
receive both a major update to the Seawolf selfdefence
missile system and the new command
system that controls the weapons at the same
time.
Minister for Defence Equipment and Support,
Quentin Davies, said: “We work closely with
industry to equip our Armed Forces and this
refit will boost several of HMS WESTMINSTER’s
systems and making her the most advanced
frigate in the fleet.
“The Seawolf update that is being rolled out
across the Type 23s is designed to combat the
increasing threat of faster, lower flying and more
manoeuvrable missiles today and also to guard
against future advances. The system can now
track an object the size of a cricket ball at twice
the speed of sound from over 20 miles away and
launch two counter missiles.”
The new ‘brain’ of the ship’s weapons systems,
called DNA(2), is also being installed as part of a
class-wide programme upgrade across the Type
23 Frigate Force to help ensure that operational
capability can be sustained and optimised
for the future.
Then Director of Ships at Defence Equipment and
Support, Rear Admiral Bob Love (now First Sea
Lord), said: “The updated command system is
designed to sustain the world-class operational
capability of the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates
as technology moves forward. Exploiting off-theshelf
computing technology as appropriate, the
system will be easier and more cost effective
to maintain through life and shares many
technological and operational features with that
on the Type 45 Destroyers now entering service.
This commonality will deliver further support
efficiencies and minimize the need for Royal Navy
personnel to retrain across ship classes during
their careers.”
06
ADVANCED HAWKEYE PROGRAM
REACHES MILESTONE C
The USN’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program
received approval to begin low-rate initial
production on June 11.
US Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition,
Technology and Logistics, Ashton Carter, signed
the Acquisition Decision Memorandum that
delivered the decision following a Milestone C
review for which the programme underwent a
system design verification and demonstration
during developmental testing.
The decision comes after the E-2D’s completion
of an operational assessment last year to verify
the aircraft’s systems capability, suitability and
design will be fully responsive to the future needs
of the carrier air strike group.
Under the E-2D’s low-initial rate production, the
USN will procure two aircraft each in fiscal year
2009 and 2010. The program of record indicates
the Navy will purchase 75 total aircraft.
CHILE TO RECEIVE US OILER
A decommissioned Henry J Kaiser-class fleet oiler
formerly operated by US Military Sealift Command
(MSC) is being regenerated for transfer to the
Chilean Navy.
The 40,900-ton ex-USNS ANDREW J HIGGINS (T-
AO 190) is expected to be renamed ALMIRANTE
MONTT and replace the 1960s-vintage
replenishment ship ARAUCANO in Chilean service.
Construction of the first Kaiser-class vessels at
the Avondale yard in Louisiana (now owned by
Northrop Grumman) in the 1980s was delayed
by design problems, excessive vibration at high
speeds and other issues. Laid down in November
1985 and launched in January 1987, fourth-ofclass
ANDREW J HIGGINS was delivered to MSC
in October of that year but decommissioned early
in May 1996.
In common with most ships in the 16-strong
class, it is a single-hulled vessel capable of
carrying 180,000 barrels of fuel oil or aviation
fuel. Three of the later ships (T-AOs 201,
203 and 204) were built with double hulls to
comply with the requirements of the 1990
Oil Pollution Act, increasing their full load
displacement to 41,225 tons but reducing their
cargo capacity by 17 per cent. Fourteen of the
ships remain in MSC service.
JAPAN LAUNCHES SECOND HELICOPTER
CARRIER
The second of two 197m-long through-deck
helicopter carriers for the Japan Maritime Self-
Defense Force (JMSDF) was launched on 21
August at IHI Marine United’s Yokohama shipyard.
The Hyuga-class ship, ISE, is scheduled to
commission in March 2011, two years after firstof-class,
JS HYUGA, formally joined the Japanese
fleet.
Described within the JMSDF as helicoptercapable
destroyers, the 18,000-ton vessels are
intended primarily for anti-submarine warfare
missions with an embarked air wing comprising
up to 10 SH-60K Seahawk helicopters.
HYUGA and ISE will replace the capability provided
by the two 5,000-ton Haruna-class destroyers,
now decommissioned, each of which could
accommodate three Seahawk helicopters.
INDIAN NAVY SEA HARRIER SHORTAGE
The Indian Navy (IN) is facing a serious shortage
of aircraft capable of operating from its aircraft
carrier, INS VIRAAT, which is about to re-enter
service following a refit.
The loss of a Sea Harrier on 21 August has
reduced the IN Sea Harrier fleet to just eight, with
three twin-seat Sea Harrier T Mk-60s, out of an
original 30 purchased in 1984.
Most of the aircraft have been lost in accidents,
07
The USN’s first X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) for aircraft carrier launches, recoveries and at-sea operations under the UCAS Carrier Demonstration
(UCAS-D) program seen here during a series of static and dynamic proof load tests to validate the design and structural integrity. (Northrop Grumman)
THE NAVY VOL. 71 NO. 4 17